A closer look at the construction sector portion of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that the construction labor market remains extremely tight, with job openings continuing to rise year-over-year.
Wood Markets News
Mortgage Applications Decline for Fifth Consecutive Week in the Week Ending May 27, 2022
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the week ending May 27, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) declined -2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index declined -3.0% compared with the previous week.
Mortgage Loan Delinquencies Decline in the Commercial/Multifamily Sector in Q1 of 2022
On Tuesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report for Q1 of 2022. The report revealed that mortgage loan delinquencies in this sector declined in Q1 of 2022. MBA’s quarterly analysis looks at commercial/multifamily delinquency rates for five of the largest investor-groups.
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary Released for April 2022
On Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for April 2022. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last day in April, the number of job openings decreased from its all-time in March of 11.5 million to 11.4 million (-455,000), or a rate of 7.0%.
PotlatchDeltic and CatchMark to Combine and Create Leading Integrated Timber REIT
PotlatchDeltic Corporation and CatchMark Timber Trust today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction. The combination brings together two high quality timberland REITs, resulting in PotlatchDeltic owning approximately 2.2 million acres of diversified timberlands.
B.C. Government Waits for First Nations to Agree Upon Old-Growth Logging on Shared Lands
The B.C. government today still wants First Nations to reach a consensus before logging is deferred in old-growth forest on shared Indigenous territories. Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow Nation’s hereditary chiefs’ office in northwestern B.C., said consensus represents a “high bar” in a complex process.
FHFA Reports U.S. House Prices Rose 18.7% Year-Over-Year in Q1 of 2022
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index released today, U.S. house prices rose 18.7% nationwide from Q1 of 2021 to Q1 of 2022. When compared to Q4 of 2021, U.S. house prices were up 4.6%. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was up 1.5% from February 2022.
Tolko Company Releases Update on Fire Damage Repair Process for High Prairie, Alberta, OSB Facility
Investigations continue into the fire that damaged the Tolko OSB facility in High Prairie, Alberta, on Friday, May 20. Currently, there is no production taking place at the site. The facility is still shipping out existing finished product as trucks and empty railcars become available. On May 30, operations teams started clean-up in restricted areas.
New Mexico Wildfires Traced Back to U.S. Forest Service’s Planned Preventative Measures
Federal investigators announced that the two fires east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which merged together in April to form the massive blaze at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, have been traced to planned burns set by U.S. Forest Service managers as preventative measures.
Canadian Real GDP Increased 0.7% in March 2022
StatsCan reported today that real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.7% in March, following a 0.9% expansion in February. Broad-based increases across most sectors were led by client-facing industries. Both services-producing (+0.6%) and goods-producing (+0.9%) industries were up, as 14 of 20 industrial sectors expanded in March.